A roar, the golden lion's cry, echoed from the collapsed, pitch-black cave entrance.
"Ah, this is so annoying," Eudora grumbled, a hint of frustration in her voice. She leaped into the air, twisting her body, and plunged downwards.
Pazhizhi and Grandpa Pa rushed to the edge of the pit, ready to dive in and rescue them if any danger arose.
Two minutes later, Eudora dragged Gu Xing back to the top of the cave. Seeing that neither of them was injured, Pazhizhi and Grandpa Pa finally relaxed.
"It was my misjudgment. Thank you, Eudora," Gu Xing said gratefully.
"Uh... you're welcome. The important thing is that we're safe," Eudora said, turning her face away, not wanting to face Gu Xing.
"Hey, Gu Xing, why didn't you use your Blazing Soul Bomb anymore?" Pazhizhi asked curiously.
"I've lost the ability to activate the Rathalos armor," Gu Xing sighed.
"How is that possible?" Pazhizhi asked incredulously.
"Let's discuss pursuing the Golden Lion first," Grandpa Pa suggested.
The team quickly began their discussion.
Since they couldn't carelessly venture into unknown areas, the team decided to first investigate the waters around the lava cave. Eudora found this conservative pursuit strategy a bit unsettling, but after considering Li Fan's unique situation, she agreed.
On Lava Island, Li Fan, having found suitable opponents, didn't miss a single training opportunity. As long as the Black Flame King was on duty, he had to engage in an eight-minute battle with it every day. After two matches to adapt to the rhythm, he could barely participate in battles against the Dalamadur. To prolong the training and prevent it from becoming a fight to the death, the involvement of the two referees gradually decreased.
After ten days of training like this, Li Fan discovered a strange phenomenon. He knew he had become stronger, his reactions to the monsters' attacks and his use of various abilities had reached a considerable level of proficiency. However, when fighting the Black Flame King, he couldn't sense any significant difference. After much thought, there was only one possibility: Li Fan wasn't the only one who had grown stronger through special training; the Black Flame King had too. The threat posed by special individuals to the ecosystem might not be comparable to Elder Dragons. Li Fan wasn't the first hunter to visit and provoke the creature's hatred for humans. However, the overall increase in threat was undeniable. This was precisely why the Guild had designated Lava Island as a restricted area.
One day, as soon as Li Fan woke up, he spent a long time pondering the planned training route. He put down his notebook and said to Dilu, "It's time to end this."
"The special training on Lava Island is ending, meow?" Dilu asked in surprise while packing her backpack.
"That's right. According to the briefing from the Fifth Expeditionary Force that Meru Cat delivered yesterday, two-thirds of the total recruitment has been met. We have other places to go, but before we leave, we must eliminate the two major hidden dangers on Lava Island," Li Fan replied.
"Can't we try to capture them, meow?" Dilu asked tentatively.
"They've been under the influence of the divine realm for so long that it's unlikely they'll submit to humans. Besides, even after such a long period of contact, we still haven't found a way to gain their approval," Li Fan sighed. The most distinctive aspect of the two special individuals' will was their rejection of everything. Li Fan believed this was a form of resistance born from the ecosystem's rejection of them. If even the ecosystem didn't acknowledge them, they certainly wouldn't acknowledge a human.
"The team will participate with full force in this battle. The two special individuals will surely fight to the death, and their combat power might be unimaginable. Dilu, you need to be careful."
"Understood, meow!" Dilu said with great fighting spirit.
Standing on a rock formation, the Dalamadur gazed up at the gray sky obscured by volcanic dust. Every day, at approximately the same time, a group of powerful and strange monsters would invade the island. Initially, the Dalamadur wanted to kill them all, but it soon realized that just as it was about to succeed, two incredibly strong enemies would intervene, forcing it to retreat and focus on improving itself through combat. It firmly believed that in the near future, these enemies who invaded daily would be pierced by its sharp horns.
*Boom! Boom!*
Hearing the familiar tremors from the ground, the Dalamadur knew the group of monsters was approaching. Its massive tail immediately plunged into the lava pool.
*Boom!* With a swing of its tail hammer upwards, a rock formation, its bottom covered in lava, flew out of the pool and landed on the rock surface. Sensing the direction of the vibration, the Dalamadur quickly located the Mantis Captain's position. After confirming it visually, it suddenly exerted force with its slightly turned body. The tail hammer, driven by the movement, swung horizontally and rotated fiercely forward.
*Boom!* The tail hammer struck the lava-covered rock formation. The rock formation flew diagonally upwards, hurtling towards the Mantis Captain.
"It's only been a day, and the range has increased again! As for accuracy... Shanshan! Defensive stance!" Seeing the trajectory of the flying rock, Li Fan immediately gave the order, as it was heading straight for the control room.
The Mantis Captain raised its arms, shielding the control room at its chest with its giant fists.
*Boom! Crackle! Splash...* The rock formation exploded, and the splashing lava burst into a shower of sparks in mid-air. This long-range attack was barely defended against, but a small amount of scorching rock fragments still flew into the control room. Not only was Li Fan's bed ignited, but Shanshan also suffered some collateral damage.
"Shanshan! Rapid advance! Dilu! Let's put out the fire!" Li Fan gave instructions. The control room began to shake violently as the Mantis Captain ran at high speed. Although the Thunder God Dragon armor was affected by the inverted assimilation, it had also trained Li Fan to have an extraordinary sense of balance, allowing him to still move relatively steadily. With the emergency firefighting efforts of one person and one cat, the burning rock fragments were quickly cleared.
The Dalamadur originally intended to strike the rock formation again with its tail hammer to continue its attack. However, seeing that the rapidly moving Mantis Captain had leaped onto the island surface with a completely different and menacing aura than before, it realized that the opponent's objective might have changed today. It then scraped its two claws on the ground.
"It's checking if the rock formation beneath its feet is stable enough to withstand the pressure of its charging steps. So, the next move will be a charge," Li Fan judged after observing. His improvement during this period wasn't just in combat strength; through his frequent participation in battles and observation of the duels between Zhanzhan Xixi and the Dalamadur, he had grasped many details of their movements.
The Dalamadur lowered its horned head to the same height as its back and stepped forward.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* This time, the Dalamadur didn't leap with a single claw for a super-fast takeoff and aerial attack. Instead, it used its two most stable claws, alternating their steps on the ground, accelerating continuously for a conventional charge.
"Shanshan! Prepare for a counterattack!" As Li Fan gave the order, the Mantis Captain, with its knees bent, crouched on the ground. When large monsters launched targeted attacks, a human's small size offered a significant advantage for evasion. However, the Mantis Captain was different. Even if it could quickly change position, the Dalamadur could easily lock onto its massive body by adjusting its angle during the charge. Therefore, the best option was to withstand the impact first and then counterattack.
*Whoosh~* As its charging speed increased, two white streams of air appeared at the tips of its horns, followed by air currents appearing on its fan-shaped head carapace and wing bones.
"Shanshan! Hold on!" Li Fan felt that this blow would be powerful and gave a reminder. Shanshan's purple compound eyes flashed with light. Its body tilted back slightly, and its scythes on both sides slowly rose, all the insect silk wrapped around them immediately tensing.
*Boom! Roar!* The control room shook violently. If Li Fan and Dilu hadn't been wrapped in insect silk beforehand, they might have hit the ceiling. The Mantis Captain, crouched on the ground, maintained its overall posture. About one-third of its left spherical giant fist, used for defense, was shattered by the Dalamadur's horns, becoming an irregular sphere. At this moment, Shanshan noticed that several insect silks at the knee joint had snapped while maintaining the defensive crouch. This had never happened before, but now was not the time to dwell on it.
*Boom! Clang!* The Mantis Captain delivered two punches. One punch hit the three sharp, small horns on the left, breaking two of them and flattening the tip of one. The other punch struck the fan-shaped head carapace mixed with a large amount of minerals, producing a metallic ringing sound. Subsequently, several cracks appeared on its surface. The Dalamadur staggered back several steps. These two punches made it deeply understand the purpose of this group of strange monsters' visit today. To kill it!
*Roar!!!* The Dalamadur let out a fierce roar, and dark black sonic wave patterns spread out, causing large amounts of lava to surge from beneath the rock formations. Li Fan, with Dilu covering his ears, released Zhanzhan and Xixi at this moment.
"It noticed after just one move, but even if the Black Flame King dared to come, you wouldn't be a match for them." Li Fan heard the meaning in the Dalamadur's roar. The creature had understood his intentions from the Mantis Captain's attitude in this battle. However, the message didn't contain a plea for help; it merely announced that it would fight to the death, effectively giving the Black Flame King a choice.
The Dalamadur turned sideways, its claws pacing back and forth with very small intervals.
*Hoo~ Hoo~ Hoo~...* While moving restlessly, it began to pant heavily through its mouth, which was spewing black smoke.
"As expected, there's a backup plan..." Li Fan noticed something unusual. He had observed the Dalamadur for so long, even drawing diagrams of its movements when he rested, but this behavior was unprecedented.
"Shanshan, attack!" Li Fan gave the order. Seeing that the Mantis Captain hadn't moved, he looked back curiously. He discovered that Shanshan was currently placing all its insect silk on its left scythe for support, while its right scythe was pulling a single strand of insect silk for adjustment. He inferred that the previous collision might have caused a problem with a load-bearing joint of the Mantis Captain. Although such damage was quickly repaired, Li Fan couldn't wait. Facing a desperate Dalamadur was an excellent training opportunity, but Zhanzhan and Xixi were also at risk of death. He had to participate in the battle in real-time with the capture ball to prevent accidents.
"Let's go, Dilu!" Li Fan shouted as a reminder, tugging on an insect silk and jumping out of the control room. As soon as he landed, he saw large, grid-like dark red patterns appearing on the Dalamadur's head carapace and both wings.
*Hiss~ Hiss~...* A faint scorching sound was heard, and a thin layer of water vapor emanated from the Dalamadur's body.
"Is this your ultimate form..." Although he had witnessed the Dalamadur's berserk state in the game, Li Fan was still shocked to experience it up close.
*Roar...* The Dalamadur looked at Li Fan, this tiny human amidst the monsters. Its meaning was conveyed in just two words: Die.
The Dalamadur exerted force with its legs, leaping into the air. Its head turned downwards, smashing towards the rock formation.
*Boom!* The rock surface shattered, and the Dalamadur, its horns submerged in lava, began to spin.
*Boom~ Boom~ Boom~...* As its wing claws dug and excavated, its massive body soon submerged into the lava pool beneath the island.
"Zhanzhan! Xixi! Get away quickly!" Li Fan shouted, then ran towards the Mantis Captain's feet.
*Boom~ Boom~ Boom~...* Lava erupted, and rocks tumbled. A path of movement across the island rapidly approached amidst the churning.
"As expected, it's coming for me!" Li Fan, running, confirmed the Dalamadur's target in his backward glance. The strategies of rolling and diving were quickly rejected. Even if he wasn't hit directly, being caught in the aftermath could be fatal.
"I intended to save this move for last, but I didn't expect to be forced to use it now." Li Fan said, estimating the Dalamadur's position and using two insect silks to leap to a higher point. The Dalamadur locked onto its target underwater through auditory senses. Sensing that Li Fan had stopped running on the island and that the distance was sufficient, it immediately chose to attack.
*Boom!* The explosion caused by the rising steam blew apart the surrounding rocks. The Dalamadur, spinning at high speed, hurtled towards the Mantis Captain's legs. Its right giant fist immediately moved down, seemingly to protect Li Fan. While spinning, the Dalamadur was confident it could pierce the giant fist and was unfazed by the Mantis Captain's obstruction. However, only Li Fan and Shanshan knew the true purpose of the giant fist.
*Whoosh!* A capture ball was thrown forward by Li Fan, who was in mid-air. Grabbing onto the insect silk on the giant fist, he spread his arms and legs wide, sticking closely to it, and immediately closed his eyes.
*Boom!* In a flash, a dazzling red light engulfed everything around them. Huihui emerged directly from the capture ball in a sprinting and jetting posture. This was an attack method Li Fan had long envisioned. However, there was a small problem: the red flame jetting during the capture ball's launch was extremely dangerous. To achieve sufficient speed during launch, the red flame's rearward splash range would be very wide. Moreover, Huihui, when sprinting at high speed, couldn't consider the situation outside the ball. Additionally, for this attack to be sufficiently swift, the throwing direction of the capture ball was crucial. If Huihui had to make secondary adjustments to the sprinting direction, it would be better to revert to the previous aerial dive. Combining these stringent conditions, Li Fan conceived the strategy of having Shanshan's giant fist block the red flame jet after throwing the capture ball.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* The red light faded and receded, followed by a massive shockwave carrying gusts of wind. Hearing a series of loud noises, Li Fan released the insect silk and jumped to the ground. In the wisps of rising mist, the Dalamadur lay on its side on the ground, unable to get up despite its struggling claws. The perforated wound on its throat looked particularly horrifying.